Baby Daddy - Wiktionary

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• 1 English Toggle English subsection
  • 1.1 Alternative forms
  • 1.2 Etymology
  • 1.3 Pronunciation
  • 1.4 Noun
    • 1.4.1 Usage notes
    • 1.4.2 Related terms
    • 1.4.3 References

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• Discussion

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English

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Alternative forms

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• baby-daddy, babydaddy

Etymology

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African-American Vernacular English (General American would be baby's daddy) 1990s, popularized in the 2000s;[1] compare baby mama.[2] Possibly from or influenced by same term in Jamaican English, from Jamaican Creole baby-father,[1] alternatively due simply to grammatical similarities between AAVE and Jamaican Creole.[2]

Pronunciation

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• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

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baby daddy (plural baby daddies)

1. (slang, chiefly US) The father of a child in common, particularly one who did not marry the mother and provides little or no support for the mother and child. Synonym: babyfather
   • 2004, Michelle Obama, Senate victory speech, November 2, 2004:[3] My baby’s daddy, [sic] Barack Obama.
   • 2009, Stacye Branch M Msc, It's All in How You Look at It: Thoughts and Questions About Life‎[1], page 191:The baby daddy many of us at one point or another have or will be in a relationship with someone who has a child or children, and with that child or children comes another parent.
   • 2011, Michael Cornwall, Ticklenotes: More Voices from Cube Village‎[2], page 44:“I'm so glad I only have one baby daddy.” “F'really.” “I feel sorry for those girls with more than one.”
   • 2012, Aaron Peckham, Urban Dictionary: Freshest Street Slang Defined‎[3], page 16:The father of your child, whom you did not marry, and with whom you are not currently involved. That man isn't my boyfriend; he's my baby daddy.

Usage notes

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• As with baby mama, its usage is contentious. It is sometimes used neutrally as a casual term, regardless of marriage status, particularly in the tabloid press,[1] or as a term of endearment, as in the Obama quote above.[3] It is often considered pejorative, particularly if applied to unmarried black parents. If used by one parent of the other, it can imply a “child in common but no meaningful relationship”, while if used by outsiders, it can imply disapproval of children born out of wedlock; see “baby mama” citations.[4] More formal variants include “baby’s daddy” and “baby’s father”; in formal usage “father of one’s child” is preferred.

Related terms

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• baby mama

References

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1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Where Do "Baby-Daddies" Come From? The Origins of the Phrase by Julia Turner, Slate, posted May 7, 2006.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "What Did Joe Louis Have to Tell Us About Tina Fey?" on Language Log, December 10, 2008
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 “America Votes 2004”, CNN, November 2, 2004
4. ^ “Was It a Slur?”, by Tobin Harshaw, The New York Times, June 12, 2008

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